Flying

Living in Dreams: Flying


Many of us report having dreams in which we are flying.  I had such a dream the other night and this is how it went.....

As soon as I went to sleep I began to dream.  I dreamed that I was at some sort of building with one or more other (unidentified) people.  I had to climb a few stairs, but less than a full story, to get to the door of the building.  It looked like a loading dock and there were two arrows on some sort of sign or something like a weather vane, although it also appeared that the sign was in a fixed or permanent position so that the arrows were possibly not mobile.  The door to the building was closed so I turned to my left and proceeded down what seemed to be several layers of stairs, separated by landings.  Initially the stairs did not seem to go down that far, and I could see to the bottom, but as I ventured down the flights of stairs they seemed to go on and on.  I was outside and the sun was shining.

The dream became somewhat lucid at this point and I made the decision to run down the stairs.  I ran and ran and then I began to lift off the ground.  I must have liked this feeling because I decided to lift up into the air at this point and I basically started to fly upward while still moving in the general direction I was originally heading.  The stairs were not there anymore and the scenery changed.  I seemed to veer off my original path and was flying freely.  Beneath me was something that could have been an amusement park or possibly an industrial area, I am not sure.  There were no other people in my sight and the sun was still shining. 

Aware that I was dreaming and seemingly being in control of the dream I made a conscious effort to say a prayer to Jesus.  I may have prayed for me to be able to see more, have more understanding of my dream or for the dream to continue, I cannot recall.  I do remember a feeling that something was going on or that I was viewing or about to view something that interested me and I wanted to see more or know more about it.  So I made the prayer to Jesus.

I will interject at this point to clarify my personal belief system and say that I hold a somewhat untraditional view of Jesus.  While I do believe in the Jesus of the bible, I believe in a deeper interpretation than what is presented there.  What I mean is that I am a firm believer in a higher power and I have faith that this power is the guiding force in the world as well as a directional power in my own life.  I do not necessarily subscribe to any specific biblical views although I do value the Old Testament as a great historical work and the New Testament to be a valuable teaching instrument of the words of Jesus.  I do not believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible and my concept of Jesus is much bigger than even that which is described in the Bible.  If anything, I believe in an ancient and magnificent power from which All the worlds great religions derive.  It is a power that no one can understand but I feel it is the driving force behind all life and the human psyche. I refer to this power as Jesus.

The feeling of flight I experienced was amazing.  I know others have experienced flight in dreams and if you have, you know the feeling I am referring to.  The freedom of movement, the weightlessness, the exhilaration; all felt very real to me.  I also had the feeling, as I was looking down on the machinery or what appeared to be immobile carnival rides on an uninhabited landscape, that something was about to happen or that I was about to see some activity.  That is when I made the prayer to Jesus and then things went dark.  I still had the feeling of flying but I could not see anything.  I was floating/flying through darkness for a moment.

I woke up after this short but eventful dream and there was light inside my mask as if there was bright light on in the room.  I wear a sleeping mask at night and it blocks out what little light there is in the room at night.  When I awakened (either fully or partially) there was a light inside my mask and over the next few moments it began to fade.  When it became dark again I knew I was fully awake.  Because the dream was lucid, I am not sure at what point I actually woke up.  I have quite a few dreams where I see flashes of light or a solid light inside my mask when first waking up that then fade to darkness.  Invariably, these are dreams in which I feel I have experienced some sort of spiritual phenomenon or connection and they usually occur right after I first go to sleep with me waking up very soon after falling asleep.

A few weeks back I had another dream in which I saw a late, great aunt of mine that I had not thought of in a long time.  This was a short dream I also experienced right after going to bed and initially going to sleep.  Although I cannot remember all the details, I do remember feeling joy over seeing her and also had the sensation of flight for just a moment as though I was flying with her.  It was something similar to her taking my hand and moving through a meadow, floating at first, then flying.  The next moment I woke up and there were flashing lights inside my mask that faded after a few seconds.  I had a peaceful feeling upon waking up and my mind was filled with happy memories of my late aunt.

I also had a dream not long ago about my old friend that passed away last year and that dream ended with my waking up to flashing lights inside my mask.  The lights in my mask are a recurring phenomenon of late, although it does not happen often.  I have experienced dreams of flight before but I cannot recall how they went.  I have no idea what they mean, if anything, but my dreams are often very interesting and sometimes I feel they connect me more to the spiritual world.